God wants his people to know that we are part of his body. This is true even for the youngest members of Christ’s church. Long before they publicly profess their faith those baptized in infancy are part of Christ’s church and covenant. Baptized infants aren’t future church members but actual church members.

In places with a Christian heritage the weightiness of baptism can easily be underestimated. Many people get baptized, or baptize their children, out of impulse, or as a matter of custom. It isn’t usually a sobering decision.

Believers under persecution understand baptism differently. Immediately after Paul’s conversion Ananias said to him, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16). We would understand if Paul was hesitant. Jesus had already told him how much he would suffer for his name. Being baptized would mark him as a follower of Jesus and an enemy of the world. Still, Paul “arose and was baptized” (Acts 9:18). He knew there was no other way; he was a disciple of Jesus. Baptism marked his new life in God’s Son.

To treasure baptism, whether we are living in times of persecution or peace, we need to know that it is commanded by Christ and offers rich benefits. 

The Command of Baptism

Baptism is ordained by Jesus as a sign and seal of the covenant of grace. Jesus himself did not baptize (John 4:2). But he commanded his disciples to do it (Matt. 28:19). And their example shows us what it looks like. Whether by immersion, pouring, or sprinkling, a baptized person receives the outward element of water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Jesus didn’t invent water baptism. The Jewish people baptized various household goods with water (Mark 7:4). They themselves were baptized in the red sea (1 Cor. 10:2); God bound them to himself and separated them from their former owners. This old symbol now tells of how Jesus’ blood washes away our sins.

So important is baptism for the Christian life that Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize the nations. This command is why Christian ministers baptize today. In fact, for baptism to be useful it cannot be performed by any but “a minister of the gospel, lawfully called thereunto.” This is not because he has special skill in baptizing or lends any virtue to the ceremony. But because, like the original baptizers, he has been called by Jesus with authority to speak and act for him. When a true ambassador of Christ baptizes it as though Christ himself is confirming his covenant promises (cf. 2 Cor. 5:20).

By Jesus’ command all disciples must be baptized. This surely includes adult believers. Throughout the book of Acts Luke records this pattern: adults who came to believe in Jesus were baptized. When the Ethiopian eunuch came to believe that he was healed by Christ’s wounds, he was baptized (Acts 8:36, 38). After God opened Lydia’s heart to pay attention to spiritual things “she was baptized” (16:15). When the Philippian jailer got saved by trusting in the Lord Jesus “he was baptized at once” (16:31). 

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